It’s no surprise that short-form social series have taken over the celebrity interview circuit. Whether it’s eating fried chicken, naming song titles, or sharing controversial opinions on public transport, celebrity interviews once reserved for prime-time television have firmly moved onto platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube (and even late-night hosts are following suit). Excitingly, with this shift has come a new generation of independent interviewers, each experimenting with formats designed to get beyond the media training and closer to the person behind the public image.
When Iona Bielby launched Stargazer, though, she wasn’t interviewing household names – she was interviewing rising artists she admired, many of whom have since become her friends. Rather than chasing celebrity access, she focused on something she could control: thoughtful questions, a carefully crafted visual identity and conversations that felt more human than performative.
That outlook still drives Stargazer today, as the series launched the first episode of its third season with musician, Stranger Things star, and 24.5 million-followed Finn Wolfhard last week. “I’m not media-trained,” Iona laughs. “I’m sure everyone can tell by now; I have no interest in being media-trained. I just wanted to create something that felt really human and not palatable. Something a little more dangerous; I always say there’s a bite to my interviews, if you really pay attention.”
Below, we caught up with Iona to discuss building one of the internet’s most distinctive interview series, how she earns artists’ trust, and why originality has far less to do with format than most people think.
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